[pargon]

Got a good customer down here with a purple version of above reel that has a drag range problem. He has low hours on this reel and even though he's owned it for awhile he has not used it much at all. No matter where you set the drag range, when you move the lever forward it'll go along with no increased drag until it gets to a point where in 3/4 of an inch of movement you go from 0 to full set drag. It's like the range, where ever set, is compacted in to a very small portion of the lever travel. Any thoughts, or history, on this problem other than "send it in"? He's gonna do that when he gets home, but if I can effect repair here I'd like him to have use of this reel. Thanks in advance for constructive advice.

[alantani]

here's the rebuild post for you to look at.....

http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/av...2-rebuild.html (avet ex 4/02 rebuild)

i know there has been discussion regarding the "steepness of the ramp" when you throw the drag lever forward. some want a very smooth progression. personally, i don't care. when i push a drag lever forward to strike, i want a certain drag pressure. i don't care whether it ramps up smoothly or all at once, i just want the drag to be there when i hammer that lever forward. maybe my style is different. i'm not concerned about the journey, just the destination.

[el capo]

Originally Posted by alantani

here's the rebuild post for you to look at.....

http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/av...2-rebuild.html (avet ex 4/02 rebuild)

i know there has been discussion regarding the "steepness of the ramp" when you throw the drag lever forward. some want a very smooth progression. personally, i don't care. when i push a drag lever forward to strike, i want a certain drag pressure. i don't care whether it ramps up smoothly or all at once, i just want the drag to be there when i hammer that lever forward. maybe my style is different. i'm not concerned about the journey, just the destination.

Might as well use a star drag then.

[HTA]

Has he had this problem from the day he purchased it or has it occured recently? If it has been this way from the start then it is more than likely that the bellvues were not installed in the proper order. Alan has some grat tutorials that will show the proper alignment of the bellvues and are very easy to fix following his tutorials.

[coryellk]

Originally Posted by alantani

here's the rebuild post for you to look at.....

http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/av...2-rebuild.html (avet ex 4/02 rebuild)

i know there has been discussion regarding the "steepness of the ramp" when you throw the drag lever forward. some want a very smooth progression. personally, i don't care. when i push a drag lever forward to strike, i want a certain drag pressure. i don't care whether it ramps up smoothly or all at once, i just want the drag to be there when i hammer that lever forward. maybe my style is different. i'm not concerned about the journey, just the destination.

Word!

[coryellk]

Originally Posted by el capo

Might as well use a star drag then.

Quite the opposite. Lever drags have about 45 degrees of travel between off and full or zero to max pressure. Star drags have over a 1000 degrees of revolution to apply 0 to max drag pressure.
If your star drag ramps up too fast, then you need new washers (and/or shimming) because your old ones are over compressed. A little grease and new washers will make your star drag ramp up nice and smooth.

[Pimp Fish Daddy]

Originally Posted by pargon

He has low hours on this reel and even though he's owned it for awhile he has not used it much at all. No matter where you set the drag range, when you move the lever forward it'll go along with no increased drag until it gets to a point where in 3/4 of an inch of movement you go from 0 to full set drag.

Brake the thing in... Let him either catch a fish that is going to pull some line a few times or, tie the line off to a truck bumber and run off some line a few times...
If he, or someone else on the boat, has not attempted to adjust the drag with it in anything but total free spool... This should mellow out the ramp... Has he even caught a REAL fish on it yet???